For the first time ever, I shall commence the re-telling of the day's adventures in reverse sequence. (What?!)

The completion of the Erin Mills Transitway has had a substantial impact on my academic and recreational commuting routines: several buses now make a brief stop at the recently finished station before continuing their westbound/eastbound trips. A visit to the small, bathroom-less terminal had been in my plans since Metrolinx announced its anticipated date of operation, and so it was only appropriate to include the images captured during my stay as the first section of this post.

I arrived at the station just a few minutes after 6 pm, making sure to allocate just enough time to capture the desired amount of photos prior to boarding the bus that the schedule claimed would arrive thirteen minutes later.

The sun was just setting around this hour, and the sight was quite extraordinary. Perhaps the only downsides was that the area was completely exposed to the harsh gusts of wind signalling the commencement of a potentially hazardous Canadian winter and the prominent lack of washrooms (an essential element for transferring commuters).

Unfortunately, the bus was far from punctual.

Violating my standard expectations for GO Transit, it wasn't until 6:22 pm that I finally caught sight of the bus turning in. By this point in time, my fingers had almost been frozen solid.
​And yes, gloves had been donned, though it's quite difficult to shield oneself from howling winds and frigid temperatures when the heated shelter is approximately two platform stops away. As EMTW is not a main terminal, the bus would be unlikely to pause for longer than one minute before zooming off.

Ecstatic about escaping the cold, I boarded and inquired about the whereabouts of the 6:13 pm bus, making the assumption that this was simply the 6:30 pm bus that arrived slightly early.
"This is it." I was told. "This is the 6:13 bus."

By golly, GO Transit needs to step up their game.

​Rewinding a few hours, I found myself embarking on a short journey through the PATH following a lazily prepped lunch of field greens and watery guacamole (Word of note: don't add more than one two tbsp of lime juice!).

Contrary to my initial thoughts of the underground network, I've recently come to learn that the walkway houses an extravagant number of merchants and food retailers with comparable variety to the shops located above. A large number of these businesses cater to the lunching needs of businesspeople in the Financial District, commonly providing mobile apps that allow for ordering in advance and speeding up the grab-and-go process.
The fast-moving pace of the crowd tends to result in shops that operate solely using a bar or countertop for product display and transactions, however there are a select few dine-in restaurants/lounges available throughout each stretch for those with slightly more flexible schedules.

Moving swiftly through traffic, I popped into Picnic for a short while to taste samples of their Survival Cookies (very filling indeed) and zipped by Ninki to spot a promotional banner for soft serve ice cream.

An oddly empty store occupying a store space equivalent of that to Starbucks caught my eye; the interior of Belmonte Raw was almost exclusively dedicated to a black-and-white them, allowing their overpriced (and unlikely fresh) raw desserts and pre-packaged salad steal the spotlight.
(Disclaimer: I personally find no faults in adopting a vegan/raw vegan lifestyle, as each individual possesses the freedom of consumption. However, in my opinion, the concept of marketing and and promoting already-made food items as "fresh" is vastly misleading. Nutrient levels in food are at their peak when consumed immediately, but there is only so much freshness present in these so-called "cleansing" goods when they must be prepared in advance to deliver to busy, working citizens in short periods of time. The fact that the store charges outrageous prices is another reason for my distaste.)

First Canadian Place is largely comprised of retailers, and offers a marketplace - read: "upscale food court with a lower number of major chains" - on the lower floor.

As the Peanuts movie is soon to release, promotions have also steadily increased. After their collaboration with Coach to product a series of limited edition handbags and wallets, the classic comic is now joining forces with GAP to launch an absolutely adorable winter gear collection for babyGap and GapKids. (Now if only the hoodie came in an adult size...)

My journey almost led me to the Bay Adelaide Centre, though deKEFIR's simple and spacious storefront drew me in before I could proceed any further.

Having seen the shop's customizable frozen yogurt-like cups pop up on my feeds before, I knew that it was finally my turn to become associated with the never-before-tasted digestive-friendly dairy product.

Both girls behind the bar were exceedingly friendly, taking the time to explain Kefir to be a type of yogurt and even generously offering a sample of the frozen type. Upon tasting, I can only describe it to be unlike any other category of yogurt I've tried: it was firmer than frozen yogurt, but airy at the same time. It was slightly tart like Pinkberry, but also milky like Greek yogurt; the flavour was complex in that it also bore a resemblance to Danone's unsweetened natural yogurt.

As I had finished lunch not too long ago, I opted for a smoothie as opposed to a frozen kefir with toppings. Despite my indecisiveness, the girl serving me was extremely patient, and did not reveal any signs of discontent while I carefully examined my options.

Smoothies were available in three sizes (S, M, L), each roughly the same volume as Starbucks' cold drink cups. Each smoothie would be blended with one topping, while three additional toppings (in smaller quantities than the included one) could be added for an additional dollar.

Blended with watermelon, pomelo, mixed berries, and quinoa oat flakes, the smoothie rang in at a total of $5.45 including tax. Quite frankly, I found this to be a very reasonable price. It's not uncommon to see Jugo Juice listings over $7 before the size upgrades and protein powder additions; deKEFIR had blended fresh fruit with feel-good ingredients and no artificial sweeteners, unless, of course, customers opted to add in maple syrup to taste.

​My purchase was fruity and refreshing, making it the perfect mid-afternoon complement. While a tad bit of walking is required to reach the store's only location, I have a feeling that their other kefir offerings are just as sinlessly enjoyable - be it parfaits, oatmeal cups, or waffles.
(Side note: I thoroughly appreciated that a tin containing spoons wrapped in napkins had been placed right next to the cash register. Nothing is more inconvenient than to be without napkins in the case of spills or sticky cups.)

Astonishingly enough, the excursion concluded at a flower shop.

The interior was chilly in comparison to the rest of the interior pathway, likely to as a temperature control for the plants inhabiting the premises, but perhaps also to prevent non-buyers from loitering.

Investing in a small cactus for my desk has been on my to-do list since the beginning of fall, so I pounced at the opportunity to accomplish the task. A small cactus in a plastic white container filled with white sand now resides in a cozy corner of my workzone.

A visit to furama was also made during the late afternoon hours to take advantage of their 6 for $6 bun deal before hopping on the train back home.

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Who Am I?

​I'm the one that talks fashion and K-Pop randoms behind Quirky Aesthetics, the one who contributes honest opinions about commercial beauty items on Review Junkie, the one that obsessively shares photos of food on Pinterest, the one that loves her ﻿﻿DSLR﻿﻿more than her own beingand the one that wants to work in the transportation sector for a living.Welcome to the raw, unfiltered side of Quirky Aesthetics.